Port Royal Archives

The department of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University has done extensive research on the sunken city. Most of the archeological research was completed a few decades ago, but the material is still very useful. The website (by Donny L. Hamilton) itself over 10 years old, but it gives a good impression of the material available and is a great starting point for anyone with an interest in early Jamaican history.

Richardson's of Jersey on Jamaica

Not all white planters on Jamaica were English in the seventeenth century. Members from the Richardson's family who had settled on the Channel islands in the late fifteenth century, moved to Jamaica after its conquest. Nicholas Richardson (death December 13, 1702) was the most prolific. A justice of the peace (1699) and assembly member he married Francis, the daughter of Col Edward Stanton. After his death, a monument was erected in Christ-church, Newgate Street, London. The wills of his brothers are stored here (note this is archived). More details on the family and some interesting letters from the seventeenth century can be found here. The family was possibly French speaking at this stage as is evident in the correspondence. Nicholas Richardson held 1,092 acres possibly through marriage. He had one son.

Thomas Thistlewood

Thomas Thistlewood (video) extract enacted.

The papers of Thomas Thistlewood (1721 - 1786) were recently purchased by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Yale) and thankfully remain accessible to everyone. An English overseer and later plantation-owner, Thistlewood kept a diary that was both detailed and explicit. Many historians have used the diaries, and the renowned Jamaican historian Douglas Hall presented large  extracts in 'In Miserable Slavery Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica 1750-85 (Kingston, 1999).

A different approach was taken a few years later by Trevor Burnard in Mastery, Tyranny and Desire - Thomas Thistlewood and his slaves in the Anglo-Jamaican World (London, 2004). He used the diaries in seminars and through these explored a number of different themes with the help of his students. The resulting book gives a fascinating snapshot of the eighteenth century Jamaica. Burnard tackles the issues of power, slave relations, the enlightenment and promiscuity in all its gruesome detail. Interestingly, where Thistlewood remained the central character, others now receive a prominent place.